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Transcendence
What Will You Discover Between the Darkness and the Light?
When the mortal coil wears thin and the great unknown draws nigh you might spy the narrow gap between the mystical and the mundane. You might even notice they’re looking back.
Transcendence takes a hard look at humanity in nine tales of difficult choices, great rewards, and journeys beyond expectation.
In Skippy, Don does not like what he sees in the mirror…but will he survive it?
A Fury finds form—and retribution—in The Kindly One.
If I Had the Chance takes do-overs to a new level.
Aisa has a death-ly choice to make in The Misses Moirai.
Ruby Red sweeps you away in a dance on the edge of madness.
Purgatory is when you think you’re damned…hell is when you are right…
Fredrich tries to drown his sorrows in Stoli and Solitude.
For Camirel finding purpose means total transformation in Emberling.
Transcendence…where you look into the heart of a star and find yourself.
The extraordinary awaits… will you step beyond the bounds of commonplace existence?
When the mortal coil wears thin and the great unknown draws nigh you might spy the narrow gap between the mystical and the mundane. You might even notice they’re looking back.
Transcendence takes a hard look at humanity in nine tales of difficult choices, great rewards, and journeys beyond expectation.
In Skippy, Don does not like what he sees in the mirror…but will he survive it?
A Fury finds form—and retribution—in The Kindly One.
If I Had the Chance takes do-overs to a new level.
Aisa has a death-ly choice to make in The Misses Moirai.
Ruby Red sweeps you away in a dance on the edge of madness.
Purgatory is when you think you’re damned…hell is when you are right…
Fredrich tries to drown his sorrows in Stoli and Solitude.
For Camirel finding purpose means total transformation in Emberling.
Transcendence…where you look into the heart of a star and find yourself.
The extraordinary awaits… will you step beyond the bounds of commonplace existence?
- GenresFantasy
120 pages, Paperback
First published October 10, 2014
5 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Ackley-McPhail
116 books206 followersAward-winning author, editor, and publisher Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. In 2014 she joined forces with husband Mike McPhail and friend Greg Schauer to form her own publishing house, eSpec Books (www.especbooks.com).
Her published works include eight novels, Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, Daire’s Devils, The Play of Light, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the author of the solo collections Eternal Wanderings, A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, Transcendence, Between Darkness and Light, The Fox’s Fire, The Kindly One, and the non-fiction writers’ guides The Literary Handyman, More Tips from the Handyman, and LH: Build-A-Book Workshop. She is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Gaslight & Grimm, Side of Good/Side of Evil, After Punk, and Footprints in the Stars. Her short stories are included in numerous other anthologies and collections.
In addition to her literary acclaim, she crafts and sells original costume horns under the moniker The Hornie Lady Custom Costume Horns, and homemade flavor-infused candied ginger under the brand of Ginger KICK! at literary conventions, on commission, and wholesale.
Danielle lives in New Jersey with her husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail and four extremely spoiled cats.
Her published works include eight novels, Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, Daire’s Devils, The Play of Light, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the author of the solo collections Eternal Wanderings, A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, Transcendence, Between Darkness and Light, The Fox’s Fire, The Kindly One, and the non-fiction writers’ guides The Literary Handyman, More Tips from the Handyman, and LH: Build-A-Book Workshop. She is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Gaslight & Grimm, Side of Good/Side of Evil, After Punk, and Footprints in the Stars. Her short stories are included in numerous other anthologies and collections.
In addition to her literary acclaim, she crafts and sells original costume horns under the moniker The Hornie Lady Custom Costume Horns, and homemade flavor-infused candied ginger under the brand of Ginger KICK! at literary conventions, on commission, and wholesale.
Danielle lives in New Jersey with her husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail and four extremely spoiled cats.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 13, 2017
I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. All were good but the two I loved most were the story about the gates, and the story of the emberlings. The stories are a collection of supernatural, fantasy, and a bit of mythology. I enjoyed the narration by Jennifer Fournier.
January 31, 2022
An interesting set of stories mostly in the fantasy genre. I'm an anthology fan and I enjoyed this.
Thanks very much for the free review copy!!
Thanks very much for the free review copy!!
March 11, 2020
This ARC was kindly provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have never heard of Danielle Ackley-McPhail before and started to read the collection with no expectations. Already after the first paragraphs one thing became clear: this woman can write! Danielle has a very dense style and she does everything to create vivid, intense pictures of the things that she describes.
Horror isn't really my genre anymore but Skippy, the first story, managed to grab me. It's the strong relationship between Don and his sister Kylie that makes it shine and memorable.
The Kindly One is about a prisoner who goes to extremes to save her status. Can this go on forever? There isn't much plot here, it's rather a character study that becomes very intense and slowly flows to its conclusion.
If I had the Chance I found rather ordinary and for me it's the weakest entry of the collection.
The Misses Moirai mixes Greek mythology with the poor fate of a young girl. For me it wasn't really necessary to explain the names of the Misses, it would have been interesting to leave it as a riddle for the readers. Anyway, a tough decision must be made and I enjoyed this modern version very much.
Ruby Red was a fascinating piece, narrated as a stream of consciousness that first overwhelmed me - and then swept me away. One of my favorites!
Purgatory transports the reader right into that place. It's a dark, violent and twisted story with echoes of The Kindly One. Again the reader can find traces of Greek myth but this time they are not so obvious. The brutal events had me in a firm grip but what I found even more impressing was that the focus always remained on the characters, their strength and weaknesses and the question if destiny can be changed. An excellent story and the highlight of the collection.
Stoli and Solitude I found charming and amusing, a welcome change after the darkness of purgatory.
Emberling is a fantasy story that looks at dragons from a different perspective. The plot is carried by its strong character and I enjoyed it very much.
Transcendence is another piece that overwhelms the reader with impressions to make an interesting point. I don't know if the whole concept makes sense outside of a short story but here it worked.
I am happy to say that I have discovered a new author that I will follow closely in future! Danielle immerses the readers with her style and always puts the focus on the characters. I would like to sit with her at a campfire and exchange stories all night long. I am sure it will never get boring.
I have never heard of Danielle Ackley-McPhail before and started to read the collection with no expectations. Already after the first paragraphs one thing became clear: this woman can write! Danielle has a very dense style and she does everything to create vivid, intense pictures of the things that she describes.
Kylie's screams shreddered the air the way shards of glass cut through cobwebs.
Horror isn't really my genre anymore but Skippy, the first story, managed to grab me. It's the strong relationship between Don and his sister Kylie that makes it shine and memorable.
The Kindly One is about a prisoner who goes to extremes to save her status. Can this go on forever? There isn't much plot here, it's rather a character study that becomes very intense and slowly flows to its conclusion.
If I had the Chance I found rather ordinary and for me it's the weakest entry of the collection.
The Misses Moirai mixes Greek mythology with the poor fate of a young girl. For me it wasn't really necessary to explain the names of the Misses, it would have been interesting to leave it as a riddle for the readers. Anyway, a tough decision must be made and I enjoyed this modern version very much.
Ruby Red was a fascinating piece, narrated as a stream of consciousness that first overwhelmed me - and then swept me away. One of my favorites!
Purgatory transports the reader right into that place. It's a dark, violent and twisted story with echoes of The Kindly One. Again the reader can find traces of Greek myth but this time they are not so obvious. The brutal events had me in a firm grip but what I found even more impressing was that the focus always remained on the characters, their strength and weaknesses and the question if destiny can be changed. An excellent story and the highlight of the collection.
Stoli and Solitude I found charming and amusing, a welcome change after the darkness of purgatory.
Emberling is a fantasy story that looks at dragons from a different perspective. The plot is carried by its strong character and I enjoyed it very much.
Transcendence is another piece that overwhelms the reader with impressions to make an interesting point. I don't know if the whole concept makes sense outside of a short story but here it worked.
I saw everything and nothing. Every color of light flooded my vision and all the knowledge of the universe was at my command, wrote itself into my very being until such a simple thing as a name scarce had room for itself, it was buried so deep.
I am happy to say that I have discovered a new author that I will follow closely in future! Danielle immerses the readers with her style and always puts the focus on the characters. I would like to sit with her at a campfire and exchange stories all night long. I am sure it will never get boring.
May 27, 2015
Danielle Ackley-McPhail’s Transcendence is a collection of stories and poems. The poems didn’t wow me, but some of the stories were quite enjoyable. There are evil twins, magic mirrors, prisons, time-jumping, the Fates, dragons, and souls in need of help. Skippy is the evil twin story, and the supernatural part of this story comes quick and hard. The Kindly One involves prisons and mother-daughter relationships. The Misses Morai is a story about fate and the Fates with a sad but understandable end. Ruby Red is about… uh, colors… sorta.
This is going to be such a brief review! When stories are this short, it’s very difficult to say much about them without risking giving too much away. Some of the stories have pacing and action and surprises, but many of them are quick and to say anything about their events would be to say too much. I felt that some stories dove into their subjects a little suddenly, and that others could have used a denouement rather than a quick ending. It’s hard to make that judgment with short stories, though. There are some excellent conceptual pieces that will make you think.
Almost all anthologies get a mixed-review, from me at least. With such a range of stories you’re likely to find at least some stories that wow you, but also some stories that don’t impress. I think that’s true of most people. So like many other anthologies, this one gets a rough, middle-of-the-road score from me.
Original review available at Errant Dreams: http://www.errantdreams.com/2015/05/r...
This is going to be such a brief review! When stories are this short, it’s very difficult to say much about them without risking giving too much away. Some of the stories have pacing and action and surprises, but many of them are quick and to say anything about their events would be to say too much. I felt that some stories dove into their subjects a little suddenly, and that others could have used a denouement rather than a quick ending. It’s hard to make that judgment with short stories, though. There are some excellent conceptual pieces that will make you think.
Almost all anthologies get a mixed-review, from me at least. With such a range of stories you’re likely to find at least some stories that wow you, but also some stories that don’t impress. I think that’s true of most people. So like many other anthologies, this one gets a rough, middle-of-the-road score from me.
Original review available at Errant Dreams: http://www.errantdreams.com/2015/05/r...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews