Stalkers paperback now available

I received my paperback copy of Stalkers yesterday. Being able to touch the cover, flip through the pages and see my name and story inside, has been incredible. Freaking incredible. The book is almost 500 pages long! Like all writers, I am proud of my submission in this awesome collection of seventeen creepy in a good way stories. I'm reading through the anthology now, taking my time to thoroughly enjoy each and every story, while admiring each author's talent. It feels great to be included in such wonderful company.

So what is my story about? My story, entitled Powerless, is about Kat, a young woman, 20 years-old, a college student by day and ghost hunter at night. She is being stalked by something otherworldly. The question is why? 

When writing, music is a huge component to my creative process. I need tunes. Sometimes I'll hear a song and have to download it on the spot or stop and let the lyrics wash over me. Powerless began to write itself. If there was ever a case of me being a true story channeler--his was it. Kat's voice hit me with an incredible power. I had to stop what I was doing and create a new file. I began to type and had written three pages when she quieted down. That's okay. I know that's how certain stories are born. I saved the file and moved on. Until I heard Linkin Park's song "Powerless" one day while I was playing their album. I think I played the song about five times. The words stuck with me. Impacted me. Touched me.

They were Kat's words. Telling about her. Her life. What was going on. How she felt. Look here:

"I watched you fall apart and chased you to the end.
I'm left with emptiness that words cannot defend
You'll never know what I became because of you
Ten thousand promises, ten thousand ways to lose

And you held it all but you were careless to let it fall
You held it all and I was by your side, powerless"

Falling apart. Chasing. Emptiness. Promises. What I became. By your side. Powerless.

That was my character and her life in a nutshell. Ow, who created that saying anyway? Squirrels? All humor aside, "Powerless" helped me open up that file and let me hear Kat's voice again. And I'm amazed by how much music is connected to writing. I own all of Linkin Park's albums. They're one of my favorite bands. I've written a handful of scenes while listening to their songs. There are other musicians I lean upon for help as well, but their stories are for other posts. 

I am simply grateful to be affored the opportunity to finally begin to get my stories out of my head, into documents, and then out into the world to share with others. I hope if you do decide to purchase a copy of Stalkers that you will enjoy it all and that this post has given you some insight into how my story, "Powerless," came to be.

Stalkers is currently on sale for only $.99 at Amazon. Grab a copy now. And thanks.