BOOKS

SELF-PUBLISHED WORKS

Postcards from NeoTokyo Series

A series of connected short stories and novellas, the Postcards from NeoTokyo series takes place in the cyberpunk future of NeoTokyo. The first two stories, Memory & Desire and Out of the Dead Lands, follow the adventures of Jennifer Yanchez, a private-eye working on getting her life together even as she works a case. Will appeal to fans of hard-boiled noir, kick-ass lesbian protagonists, and cyberpunk dystopias.

Memory & Desire. When a rich socialite from the exclusive Upper region of Neo Tokyo needs help finding her missing husband, Jennifer Yanchez thinks her luck is finally changing. A decade after her girlfriend Hiro was killed, Jennifer is still trapped deep in the bottle and even deeper in debt, but this job promises to change all that. However, when a visit to the woman’s apartment ends in a fiery explosion, Jennifer finds herself drawn into the orbit of a mysterious, robot-fighting woman who seems to be aligned with a terrorist cell. Distracted by her employer’s erotic advances and haunted by memories of her girlfriend’s death, Jennifer needs to sort the truth from the lies before the past repeats itself and she ends up dead. Read a very positive review over at the blog Culture Vulture!

Currently on sale at Anyone Comics in Brooklyn, New York! Also available as a print or ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords

Out of the Dead Land. Ten years after the death of her girlfriend Hiro, private detective Jennifer Yanchez continues to drown herself in work. Despite everyone pushing her to try dating again, Jennifer prefers spending her evenings alone with a bottle of sake. But a job tracking down a kidnapped child dredges up maternal impulses Jennifer thought she’d buried long ago … as well as evidence of more than a dozen other missing kids. Once again pitted against the merciless droids of NeoTokyo’s Central AI, Jennifer will need all her private-eye wits and hacker skills to unravel a sinister plot that goes much deeper than she can imagine. When a former ally makes an unexpected appearance, Jennifer’s moral compass is turned on its head. Now she doesn’t just have to worry about saving the kid — she has to worry about whether she’s even fighting for the right side.

Currently abailable as a print or Kindle edition at Amazon. All other eBook formats abailable at Smashwords.

Postcards from NeoTokyo (Volume 1). This volume collects the first two installments in the Postcards from Neo Tokyo series, Memory & Desire and Out of the Dead Land. In the robot-controlled city of NeoTokyo, private detective Jennifer Yanchez manages to stay one rent payment away from eviction and one drink away from going over the edge. Ever since her girlfriend Hiro was killed after joining an underground resistance movement, Jennifer has focused on two things: her job and drowning herself in sake. Now, a decade later, Jennifer’s stolid if dysfunctional existence is being upended by a series of encounters with a mysterious, purple-haired woman. Whether she’s tracking down a missing husband, rescuing a kidnapped child, or ducking plasma-riffle fire, Jennifer finds herself pitted against the merciless androids from Central AI as well as her own past.

Currently ON THE SHELVES of Greenlight Books in Ft. Green, Brookyln!  Also available as an eBook at Smashwords or in print or Kindle at Amazon.

BOOKS I’M QUERYING

Please note that the manuscripts I’m querying are complete and have not been previously published in any form. They are unrelated to my self-published works above.

Love Songs for the Robot Apocalypse

Currently Querying! A queer YA sci-fi romance, Love Songs for the Robot Apocalypse is The Terminator as told by John Greene, or Battle Angel Alita crossed with Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It’s a coming of age lesbian romance set in 1995 with small-town football, punk-rock mixed tapes, and a mysterious freedom fighter from the future … I am currently querying literary agents seeking representation for Love Songs. If you are an agent interested in seeing a full or partial manuscript, I’d love to hear from you!

Dragon’s Curse

Currently Querying! One hundred years ago, the Gods were killed.  The evil Dragon Gornd returned from centuries of exile to slaughter the other Gods who had imprisoned them at the dawn of time.  He exterminated the elves, toppled the human kingdoms, and drove the dwarves into hiding.  For the last one hundred years, he and his followers have ruled the Five Fold Realms while all other peoples have struggled to survive under the harsh draconian rule.  There has been no magic, no kings, no Gods other than the Dragon.  But now, on the fringes of Gornd’s Empire, something is changing.  A half-orc warrior has received a vision.  A young boy has found ancient scrolls.  And a dwarf, determined to follow pleasure and distraction wherever it leads, finds himself unable to escape the call of fate … Dragon’s Curse is epic fantasy in the tradition of Patrick Rothfus or Tad Williams, only with race and LGBTQ characters interwoven into the world. As a former medieval studies major, I bring a deep understanding of history, societies, and medieval literature into my characters and world-building. I am currently querying literary agents seeking representation for Dragon’s Curse. If you are an agent interested in seeing a full or partial manuscript, I’d love to hear from you!

The Sword of Embers

A fantasy book for “struggling readers” age 9+ reading on a 500 Lexile (1-2 grade) level.

Flaire is a young wood elf who longs to be a ranger, like his mom. But when he and his friend overhear a high elf general plotting to find the lost Sword of Embers and destroy the wood elves, will Flaire become a hero and save the day — or will his sister and her ice dragon have to come to his rescue? Book 1 of a 10 book series.

My “Target Audience” is kids who like their parents reading Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, or The Hobbit out loud to them, but they aren’t up for reading that complexity on their own. I’m aiming for that level of PG action — there’s no REAL violence, but the bad guy holds a sword to someone’s neck at one point, so there’s action and adventure, “not just friendship” and “misunderstandings.” No talking animals or cute fairies, so it hopefully reads like My First Tad Williams or A Beginner’s Guide to High Fantasy.  It’s a “chapter book” but ony 10,000 words total, with chapters around 800-1,000 words each. 

Book 2, The Sword of Frost is finished and in the process of being edited, and I’ve started book 3. With a little luck, The entire series should be finished by the end of 2021.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BOOKS

The Legend of Ragnar Lothbrok

The Legend of Ragnar Lothbrok. My one “real” publication (Greymalkin Press, 2016). A translation of the medieval Icelandic saga Ragnars Saga Lodbrokar. Originally completed as my senior project back in 1999, a publisher emailed me out of the blue seventeen years later looking to turn it into an actual book. One of the craziest stories of my life. Anyway, if you like vikings and want a scholarly translation of what their stories were REALLY like, this one’s got it all – a princess in a tower, a dragon, and lots of viking raids. 

Available now on Amazon