Cover Reveal

Comprehensive Author and Story Listing for FVP’s

MASKS Anthology

Candace Robinson:

Short Bio:

Candace Robinson spends her days consumed by words and hoping to one day find her own DeLorean time machine. Her life consists of avoiding migraines, admiring Bonsai trees, watching classic movies, and living with her husband and daughter in Texas—where it can be forty degrees one day and eighty the next.

Title of Story:

• The Celebration Game

Blurb:

It had begun as an innocent game, and then it became one that would end in blood.

Quote from story:

"It was all supposed to be a game in good and fun. Yet now it felt more than real, and that was because it was."

Social Media:

Website: http://authorcandacerobinson.wordpress.com

Blog: http://literarydust.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/literarydust

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/literarydust/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/literarydust

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16541001.Candace_Robinson

R.J. Garcia:

Short Bio:

R.J. Garcia is a wife, and proud mom of two smart kids. She earned her MSW and worked with foster children and as a school social worker. Writing has been her other great love. She has published several non-fiction pieces about teen issues. She has been writing short stories for as long as she can remember. To her amazement, those short stories became novels!

Title of Story:

• The Axeman Among Us

Blurb:

Based on real and fictional events: In 1918, two teen boys live to tell about their encounter with the deadly serial killer, The Axeman of New Orleans, fear his return and implore the service of a voodoo priestess.

Or

Inspired by true events: In 1918, two boys encounter the deadliest serial killer of their time, The Axeman of New Orleans. Fearing he will return to kill them; they implore the service of a voodoo priestess.

Quote from story:

“One thing for sure, the Axeman was here among the living. Just blending in with the rest of us in New Orleans. No one was beyond suspicion. I needed to turn to voodoo more than ever because I was losing my mind.”

Or

"We should have run in the opposite direction. Yet something was leading us, propelling us toward those tortured cries."

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/writer_rjgarcia/ https://twitter.com/rj_dreamer https://www.facebook.com/writerr.j.garcia/?ref=bookmarks https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16515959.R_J_Garcia https://rj-garcia-writer.com/about/

Marlena Frank:

Short Bio:

Marlena Frank is the author of young adult fantasy and horror novels and novellas, including the Amazon bestseller Stolen of the Stolen series. She has been writing and publishing short fiction since 2010.

Title of Story:

• La Femme En Rouge

Blurb:

Josie is a trans woman struggling to embrace herself despite an abusive home life. When she encounters a strange woman in red one night, she finds herself drawn into a mystery and a discovery she never expected.

Quote from story:

Quote 1:

“For the first time all week, I finally looked like myself, but I felt like an impostor. I always felt like an impostor on Friday nights.”

Quote 2:

“Her eyes roamed over my body, lingering on my chest, my too-wide shoulders. My face went hot as I apply glue to the second lash. I blew on it, waiting for the white stripe to go clear, waiting for the question or comment that was sure to come. She dropped her paper towel into the trash and headed for the door. No words, only the clacking of her shoes as she stepped out onto cement. The silence left behind lingered, filled only with the questions left unanswered.”

Social Media:

Website: http://marlenafrank.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlenafrank/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarlenaFrankAuthor/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarlenaFrank Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbVSPu7yCB8FKIWeSJi2ddA Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lenaf007/

M. Dalto:

Short Bio:

M. Dalto is a YA/NA author of adventurous romantic fantasy stories and her debut novel, Two Thousand Years, won one of Wattpad's Watty Awards in 2016. She spends her days as a full-time residential real estate paralegal, using her evenings to pursue her literary agenda. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading fantasy novels, playing video games, and drinking coffee. She currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband, their daughter, and their corgi named Loki.

Title of Story:

• Epiphany

Blurb:

The self-proclaimed 'Prince of Mardi Gras' faces his greatest fear--being alone--while discovering the mystery behind his family's untimely demise.

Quote from story:

"The price your family has paid is but a grain of sand within the hourglass of retribution I have planned for you.”

Social Media:

Website: https://authormdalto.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @MDalto421

Instagram: @author.mdalto

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MDalto/

C. Vonzale Lewis:

Short Bio:

Carla Vonzale Lewis likes her martini’s shaken…never stirred. Though she was born in Georgia, please don’t mistake her for a Georgia peach. She’s more like a prickly pear. Speaking of being born, someone asked her recently if she remembered her birth, and all she had to say was, “Yes, I do remember that handsy doctor pulling me out into the cold. Right Bastard!!!”

Despite being born in the South, she grew up in the North. California to be exact. And every once in a great while, she gets to experience all four seasons. But mostly, it’s just heat.

Her debut novel, LINEAGE, was released July 16, 2019 and she fully intends to ride that joy for the rest of her life. When she’s not concocting her next contemporary fantasy story, she enjoys reading, binge watching shows on Netflix, and trying to convince her husband that getting a dog is a wonderful idea.

Title of Story:

• The Sin Exchange (Ginger root)

Blurb:

Mardi Gras is approaching and a serial killer is on the loose. Using an ancient ritual to try and save his soul. Will Detective Beatrice Monroe and her partner Raphael stop the sadistic man before he can strike again? Or will he succeed and get out of his bargain with Papa Sin—forcing a shift in the balance between good and evil.

Quote from story:

Blood roared in my ears. My heart pounded in my chest. I looked up and turned toward the shop on the corner. Fire and light intertwined around each other in a seductive dance. A pyramid, a Greek colosseum, a Roman temple all collided into one compact image, competing for space. Heat and cold bathed my skin. Stars dying and being reborn. All these images kept circling through my vision. Bile rose, and as I bent over again, streams of vomit poured out of my mouth.

Or

“I always thought it was the battle between good and evil,” Raphael said.

Social Media:

www.cvonzalelewis.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CVLauthor/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARDaFKc97pBY8XN_92H3r5X9NZIvqEiXHUpTT_U0Povv4DSl5Ec_-xJe_O8UZ_SuZF9Xh4QtuhHWRYgL

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cvonzalelewis

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlavlewis/

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/430336351080997/?ref=bookmarks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18389491.C_Vonzale_Lewis

Melissa Ousley:

Short Bio:

Melissa Eskue Ousley is an award-winning author living in the Pacific Northwest with her family, a neurotic dog, and a piranha. Her suspense novel, Pitcher Plant, is set in the Oregon coast town of Seaside and features murder and restless spirits. It won a 2018 Independent Publisher Book Award. Her short stories have appeared in the North Coast Squid, Rain Magazine, Flicker: Stories of Inner Flame, and various anthologies. She also volunteers for a wildlife center, helping injured hawks, owls, and other forest creatures.

Title of Story:

• Spirits of Le Petit

Blurb:

A team of paranormal investigators gets more than they bargained for when a ghost hunting expedition in a haunted New Orleans theater goes horribly wrong.

Quote from story:

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her. A shadowy, feminine figure in a red dress. There was something covering the upper half of her face. It looked like a Marti Gras mask. I turned to look at her straight on, but there was no one there. She had vanished.

Social Media:

Website: https://melissaeskueousley.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MEskueOusley

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaEskueOusley/

Dave Wickenden:

Short Bio:

After 31 years in the Fire Service and attaining the rank of Deputy Fire Chief, Dave retired to write thriller novels full time. He has been a member of the Sudbury Writer’s Guild since 2014, the Writer’s Union of Canada and the International Screenwriter Association. His works comprises IN DEFENSE OF INNOCENCE, 2018, HOMEGROWN 2018, and DEADLY HARVEST 2019 and he has signed with Black Rose Writing for MAD DOG, due out in July 2020. He has adapted screenplays for his first three titles. He is currently working on his first YA Fantasy.

Title of Story:

• The Fickle Hand of Fortune

Blurb:

The luck of winning the lottery turns the tables and the Paxon family is on the line.

Quote from story:

“Some people have all the luck,” he leans forward, pulling away from the lamp at his side darkening his five o’clock shadow. “Me, I believe you have to make your own luck.”

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dave.Wickenden.Author/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DaveWickenden

Web Page: http://davewickenden.wixsite.com/dave-wickenden

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17708705.Dave_Wickenden?from_search=true

Merry Jones:

Short Bio:

Merry Jones is an award-winning author of twenty-one books of suspense, humor and non-fiction. She cohosts the Liars Club Oddcast, a weekly podcast focusing on writing and other creative endeavors, and the Writers Coffeehouse, a free, monthly event focusing on the business and craft of writing. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has appeared on national and local media to discuss it. Jones taught college-level writing for over a dozen years, is active in the Philadelphia Liars Club, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and The Authors Guild. She lives with her husband in Philadelphia.

Title of Story:

• The Blackbird Mask

Blurb:

During Mardi Gras, DeLuca, a New Orleans college student picks up a mysterious woman dressed in a sleek black raven costume. Soon, everyone who's scraped the mask's sharp beak is dead. In a panic, the lone survivor, DeLuca's roommate Logan tosses the deadly mask into the alley. When the police want to question him, he goes to retrieve it, but it's gone. Has another reveler taken it? Will that person also die? And, without it, how will Logan explain the multiple deaths, let alone prove his innocence to the police?

Quote from story:

Here are a couple--choose what you like.

The clowns told me, point blank, that I should stay away, that the raven brings bad luck. One guy—the harlequin--said the raven is the symbol of death. And look--Oh God. He was right.

I picked up her left foot again. She had black polish on her toenails, a small chip on the big toe. Shit. Why did I know that? I had no business knowing the color of this girl’s toenail polish. I’d never even met her. And here I was touching legs, smelling her lavender body wash, seeing her toenails and everything else.

When I heard screams, I ran into the hall, but froze outside my door. The woman in the raven’s mask was on her feet, back from the dead, running in circles, squawking.

Social Media:

Website: http://www.merryjones.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MerryDDJones

Sarah Lampkin:

Short Bio:

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Sarah Lampkin is a 2015 graduate from Lynchburg

College [University of Lynchburg] with a master’s degree in English. Since graduation, Sarah now lives in Northern Virginia working in the IT field while continuing her research for her graduate school thesis. When she isn’t working, Sarah continues her Celtic mythology research and Gaelic studies, while working on the Dead Dreamer series. The first two installations in the Dead Dreamer series are available now.

Title of Story:

• The Mobile Spirit (A Dead Dreamer Tale)

Blurb:

Folly runs for death as death waits for folly - Witness the rebirth of tradition

Quote from story:

"I heard no voice that day.

But I did discover one thing.

Death wore a mask."

Social Media:

Twitter: @Lampkin_S Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.sarahlampkin/?ref=bookmarks Instagram: Slampkin.author Website: Dead-Dreamer.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6606968.Sarah_Lampkin

Kristin Jacques:

Short Bio:

Kristin Jacques is an award-winning speculative fiction author and content creator from New England. Her contemporary fantasy Ragnarök Unwound was published with Sky Forest Press in January of 2019. Her YA dark fantasy Marrow Charm was released from Parliament House Press in October 2019, with an upcoming sequel in Summer 2020. When not writing, she is juggling two rambunctious boys, spoiling her cats, and catching up on a massive TBR pile. She is currently working on projects full of magic, mystery, and delight.

Title of Story:

• Roll the Bones

Blurb:

Annoyed to be missing the biggest party of the year on baby-sitting duty, Josh convinces his younger sister to join him in Mardi Gras celebration. But when she is abducted by a spirit, Josh must brave the malevolent entities of another realm to bring his sister home, if he can convince her to come back at all.

Quote from story:

"A handful of misshapen dice fell to the ground. Josh swore he could feel the impact of each one through where his knees touched the ground. He stared at the innocuous dice. A dozen whispers fluttered over his skin, tugging at his clothes. He wanted to touch them; to roll their smooth corners against the pad of his thumb. They would clutter and clack against each other in the enclosed pit of his clasped hands until he let them spill forth across the ground. His fingertips brushed the closest one before he snatched his hand away, breathing hard."

Social Media:

Wattpad:

" https://www.wattpad.com/user/krazydiamond

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krazydiamondwrites/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Krazydiamond07

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krazydiamond_writes/

Website: http://www.kristinjacques.com/

Misc.

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Kristin-Jacques/e/B01ERJJLPY

Bookbub Page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kristin-jacques

Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14745520.Kristin_Jacques

AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/profile/kristinjacques/

Myra Fiacco:

Short Bio:

Myra edits and publishes award-winning books for marvelous authors as the Owner and Editorial Director of Filles Vertes Publishing. With a peppered history in performing arts, illustration, and even tattooing, Myra brings an artistic savvy and ingenuity to the craft of storytelling. She writes motivational non-fiction (to keep it real) and historical fiction with dark whimsy (to keep life magical). Her daydreams are full of circuses, amusement parks, magicians, and music. Myra lives in the beautiful heart of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with her three kids and husband. When she isn't engrossed in a story, she can be found snowboarding or singing jazz while playing her ukulele.

Title of Story:

• Ashes, Ashes

Blurb:

Mia has been working on this serial killer ghost tour for a year. It has earned her a nomination into a secret society, but her membership hinges on giving the perfect tour on Mardi Gras. It’s all blood and murder until the serial killer’s great-grandson crashes the tour to set the story straight. Burying the past isn’t in Mia’s job description, but some tales might be too dark to repeat.

Quote from story:

“She severed pieces of her husband with an ax and snuck them out of the house in her handbag until all that remained was a feather mattress caked in dried body fluids.”

Mia savored the group’s gasps. She grinned—being a historical tour guide just never got old.

Social Media:

Website: http://www.myrafiacco.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyraFiacco

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myrafiacco/