Eric Garrison's Blog

“Christmas Special” is a modern fairy tale I wrote that bridges my Road Ghosts books with the upcoming Tipsy Fairy Tales. It stars Enid, who you may have met if you read “Spectral Delivery” early this year, and she’s joined by Gonzo and the Transit King, a jovial gnomish “fairy Godfather” who travels the straight tracks on buses and trades in favors owed.

I wrote the story as a part of the Speculative Fiction Guild’s charity-benefiting anthology, “Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection”. All proceeds benefit Indy Reads Books, an Indianapolis area literacy charity.

Gifts of the Magi: a Speculative Holiday Collection

Tomorrow, November 20th, is Transgender Day Of Remembrance, a day that transgender people like me, and our friends and allies, remember the transfolks who were killed in the past year. I know, you’re saying to yourself, “wow, that’s a bummer of a holiday” and it really is tragic beyond my capacity to deal with sometimes. But those deaths are senseless and born in hatred, and this is one way to combat that, by NOT sweeping it under the rug, by being visible instead of hiding.

I first posted about this on Facebook a couple years ago, when I could no longer be silent. I posted to about 50 people I had in an “in the know” filter, a safe way to talk about being trans and to raise awareness. But then I thought, I should add others. That list tripled in short time, and by the next year, it was almost half my friends list. Then, in the springtime, I came out to the public, because it was so freeing not to have to watch who found out what, to no longer worry about pictures being taken and posted, and to stop having to maintain a firewall between my true self and co-workers and people I didn’t know.

It’s easier being public, believe me.

Anyway, if you have anything purple to wear, and want to show support tomorrow, you could do like you would if your favorite sports team was playing and wear purple for me, and if anyone asks, say you’re doing it in memory the hundreds of transgender people who were killed this year. Because you know at least one trans person, and I hope I’m a positive ambassador.

Please, if there’s anything you want to know, don’t be afraid to ask, I am putting myself out here for this very reason.

And if you think that this isn’t something that affects you, that it couldn’t happen here, well, here are two trans women who were killed right here in Indianapolis, one less than a month ago:

http://commonplacebook.com/current-events/glbt-issues/17-year-old-indianapolis-youth-killed/

Nothin’ says “Christmas” like a good old fashioned knife-fight! This Whiteboard Wednesday, Blue and Rebecca team up to stop a new, dangerous menace on Christmas Eve in “Blue Christmas” by R.J. Sullivan in Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection.

http://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Magi-Speculative-Holiday-Collection-ebook/dp/B00P042IQ0

I’m continuing my Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection series of Whiteboard drawings, this week with Katina French’s Clockwork Republics short story, “The Curious Case of the Cobbler’s Christmas”. The steampunk fairytale stars my favorites of Katina’s characters, Kit and Greta, who are seen here fending off some poorly drawn homonculi in the cobbler’s shop mentioned in the title. It’s a thrilling story of adventure that’s a followup to the book that made me a fan of Kat’s work, Bitter Cold, a story taken from the same Snow Queen that inspired Disney’s Frozen. If you liked the latter, and if you like steampunk, you HAVE to pick that one up. Go on, I’ll wait.

Also in GotM news, last night a box of the paperback versions of the collection landed on my doorstep. Tonight, I will deliver them to Indy Reads Books, the beneficiary charity / nonprofit bookstore on the far end of Mass Ave here in Indianapolis. If you live in the area, do yourself a favor and stop by, browse their collection, and pick up a copy of the book for just $10. You’ll be helping a great organization, and getting an introduction to a wide array of talented authors. Pick up two, I know you know someone who’d like this for Christmas!

Guest Blog by Matthew Barron

I’m very proud of my story in the Gifts of the Magi anthology!  The Longest Night hints at the fate of one of the characters in Valora, my sword sorcery book, but this story is completely self-contained.  People who read Valora will nod their heads at a couple of references, but there is no need to read my prior work to enjoy this story.

I was hesitant to submit to a holiday themed anthology.  My work doesn’t generally make people feel warm and fuzzy.  Even my happy children’s book has a bittersweet quality. Fortunately, this project presented itself when one project was winding down and before another revved up.  I took a few days to think over possibilities.  I dismissed a few ideas as being too clichéd or just too boring.   The idea that floated to the top initially seemed too dark, but I think I managed to craft a story that is exciting, creepy, and thought-provoking without straying too far into the abyss.

It is exciting to see my work alongside so many talented authors.  I will be seeing the other stories for the first time with other readers during the book release at Indy Reads Books on December fourth.  It is always exciting to see how different authors interpret a theme, but with this batch of writers, ANYTHING is possible.

All proceeds from this anthology will go to the Indy Reads adult literacy charity.  That’s something I can feel warm and fuzzy about!  My story helping fund a literacy program—stories leading to more reading!

So roast some chestnuts, pour some eggnog, and enter the varied worlds within Gifts of the Magi.  Be entertained while supporting a good cause.  I hope you enjoy my story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

For more information about Matthew Barron and samples of his work, visit http://submatterpress.com

There’s no better way to describe A.D. Roland’s story, “Unraveled”, than to say it is wibbly-wobbley timey-wimey. This story pulled me in like the vortex in the whiteboard drawing, a singularity of emotion and intellectual mind-bending concepts that had me deeply invested in the main character’s life, even presented inside out and out of order. Sort of. Read this story and 14 others in Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection!

I will be featuring a different story for each Whiteboard Wednesday for the rest of the year, so watch this space for the others!

SFG Publishing, a newly formed publishing label of the Indianapolis based Speculative Fiction Guild, is proud to present its first-ever release: a holiday anthology with all proceeds benefiting Indy Reads, a not-for-profit organization that provides tutoring to illiterate and semi-literate adults.

Gifts of the Magi: a Speculative Holiday Collection gathers original fiction assembled by editors and SFG members John F. Allen, E. Chris Garrison and R.J. Sullivan.

Amazon Kindle Ebook and paperback: Click here!

*Paperbacks thru CreateSpace. Click here!

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* NOTE: Paperback orders through CreateSpace will maximize the per-book donation to Indy Reads.

The editors made a list of up-and-coming new voices that they loved to read, checked it twice, and started inviting. While some authors couldn’t do it, most of them offered an immediate and enthusiastic “yes”, and contributed some amazing stories.

In most cases, the editors requested stories set within an author’s series universe. Readers of fan favorite series can return to familiar settings and characters, such as the Coyote Series by Chantal Noordeloos and the Clockwork Republics tales by Katina French. NYT and USA Today Bestseller Debra Holland also revisited the fantasy world of her Gods’ Dream Trilogy, and the anthology editors have each contributed a new story from their ongoing series.

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Stories for Christmas– authors for the New Year!

Find within this magical tome 14 NEW original holiday-themed stories of fantasy, horror and science fiction by a talented group of authors–plus one holiday essay. The tales from our Magi vary from the light and satirical to the dark and serious, and we’ve shuffled the deck to keep you guessing.

In “Unraveled” by A.D. Roland, a time guardian may have to choose between preserving reality or destroying the man she loves.
In “Freezy the Snow Demon” by Scott M. Sandridge, a snowman comes to life, but he’s not a happy soul.
In “How Krampus Saved Christmas” by S.H. Roddey, Santa makes a terrible bargain in order to save Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, a furious fairy princess attacks a double-decker bus in E. Chris Garrison‘s “Christmas Special”.
Two secret agents attend an exclusive Christmas party with an unusual price of admission in “A Quantum of Solstice” by J.P. Bastin.
In “The Dead of Night” by David Jobe, soldiers in the midst of the zombie apocalypse try to find the Christmas spirit.
A boy and his father confront an alien creature on…”The Longest Night” by Matthew Barron.
In “An Ivory Christmas” by John F. Allen, a mercenary packing magical pistols battles a monster while Christmas shopping for her werewolf boyfriend.
Steampunk detectives find themselves fending off Christmas “elves” in “The Curious Case of the Cobbler’s Christmas” by Katina French.
Humans exiled to an alternate world blend alien and human holiday traditions in “A Season of Renewal” by Debra Holland.
A banished prince with a magic chicken finds a nearly drowned soldier–so says the storyteller in “The Warmth of Midwinter” by Marian Allen.
In “An Outlandish Christmas” by Chantal Noordeloos, bounty hunter Coyote searches for a rogue elf.
A traumatized punk girl confronts the spirits from the worst night of her life in “Blue Christmas” by R.J. Sullivan.
In a dystopian future, Christmas is outlawed, as told in “This Thing Called Christmas” by Herika R. Raymer.
…And Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author Nicole Cushing reveals the holiday specials that she feels deserve “Lumps of Coal.”

100% of all proceeds from this book benefit Indy Reads Books.

Gifts of the Magi: a Speculative Holiday Collection will be sold at Indy Reads Books.

Ordering Options:

Kindle Ebook is now live on Amazon. Click here!

*Paperbacks now available thru CreateSpace. Click here!

The paperback will be available for purchase on Amazon later this week! Watch for an update to this announcement.

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* NOTE: Paperback orders through CreateSpace will maximize the per-book donation to Indy Reads.

Mark your Calendars: Book signing Thursday, December 4, 5:30-7 pm. Several authors featured in Gifts of the Magi will be at Indy Reads Books at 911 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202. 317-384-1496. Along with the anthology, many authors will bring copies of their individual titles for sale.

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Indy Reads is a not-for-profit organization that relies on volunteers to provide basic literacy tutoring to illiterate and semi-literate adults. . “Our mission is to promote and improve the literacy of adults and families in Central Indiana. We believe that everyone should have an opportunity to learn to read, and our goal is to make Indianapolis 100% literate. Our programs include one-on-one tutoring, small group sessions, English as a Second Language instruction, and ‘Literacy Labs’ at neighborhood centers.” Indy Reads operates a bookstore in downtown Indianapolis. Learn more at www.Indyreads.org.

Check out our event on Facebook!

Just click on the gorgeous cover to go to Amazon to grab it up while it’s nearly free! (Price will go up after release) I got mine, I’m so excited!!!

Once again, I asked for story elements from my Coffin Hop friends, and this is what they came up with:

Axel Howerton: peanut butter

Lori Michelle: a dead bush

Katie John: Doll’s pram

Julianne Snow:  styrofoam plates

 

Nightmare in Frills

by E. Chris Garrison

 

“Now there’s a good little baby,” said Amelia, cooing at the toy pram she pushed down the sidewalk. Her frilly bonnet matched the doll’s bonnet; the doll’s yellow dress matched Amelia’s. The two smiled at each other.

Bonk!

Amelia whirled, her mouth forming a little “O” of surprise, only to be struck by a second flying disk.

Bonk!

She shrieked and hid behind her doll’s pram as one Styrofoam plate after another whizzed past her.

Someone laughed.

Amelia straightened her bonnet and stood, hands upon her hips. “Jacob! What would your mum say if she saw you littering like that?”

Jacob, massing nearly twice the little girl, blocked the sun as he loomed over her. “Mum doesn’t care, you little git.”

Amelia stuck out her tongue. “Go eat some peanut butter, you mean-butt.”

“Hey, that’s pretty good, little sis, you know about my allergy. Try again.”

She shook her head. “I am not your sister! And I don’t want to try again! I just want you to leave me alone!”

“Tough.”

“I think I shall tell your mum on you after all.”

“I told you, she doesn’t care what I do.”

“Not even a little?”

Jacob shook his head. “Not a bit. Mum lets me run wild.”

Amelia sniffed. “That’s so sad. Everyone needs a mummy to care for them the way I do for my little– HEY!”

He snatched the doll from the pram and held it up over his head, quite out of Amelia’s reach.

She jumped up and down, shrieking, “You mustn’t! Jacob, there must always be a doll in that pram! It’s my grandmother’s!”

Jacob laughed. “Your old witch of a grandmother?”

“She is not a witch!”

“Is so!”

“Is not! Jacob, this isn’t funny! Put it back and everything will be okay.”

Jacob pulled the head off the doll and threw it into a nearby bush.

“No!” cried Amelia, as the leaves of the bush curled and blackened. “You’ve done it now.”

“What did I do?” said Jacob, staring at the bush. He touched a leaf and it snapped off the branch and fell to the ground. He turned to look at Amelia.

Amelia allowed herself a small, sad smile as she reached up to take Jacob’s hand. “It’ll be all right now.”

Jacob cried out, “Mum! Mummy!”

“Shh,” said Amelia as her hand engulfed Jacob’s. She seemed to grow and grow and grow compared to him. The smile on her face widened into a grin, and a giggle escaped her as he hung from her hand, limp and unable to move.

She tucked the new doll into her grandmother’s antique pram. “Grandmother wasn’t a witch, great-Grandmother was. I told you, there must always be a dolly for grandmother’s pram. I’m so sorry I didn’t warn you in time, but you make such a sweet little dolly. We’ll have to get you some proper nappies and clothing once we get home. Just think, Jacob, now you’ll have a proper mum to take care of you!”