Luna's Children: James Hoch

Today's guest is fellow Luna's Children contributor James Hoch, who shares about his contribution to the anthology: "After seeing the call for submission to the anthology, I started researching about werewolves, trying to come up with a unique idea. The most interesting topic I discovered came from a 13th century account by St. Thomas Aquinas who said that 'All angels, good and bad, have, by reason of natural power, the ability to transmute our bodies.'  Hmm, transmute … change into what? Further research revealed that in 1692 an 80-year-old man from Jurgenburg claimed that werewolves were actually Hounds of God sent to do battle with demons. Aha … and that led to my short story, 'Hound of God'."

Pick up Full Moon Mayhem ... and Stranger Worlds.

An excerpt:

The demon broke free from one of the bedposts and struck out at the priest. Father Rick raked his long, razor sharp nails down Stephen’s chest making the demon scream louder than ever. “The priest is killing me! Stop him,” he said in Stephen’s innocent voice.
Father Rick dodged a kick from the demon just as the bedpost broke off, releasing the demon.
“Now, let’s really get down to it,” the demon whispered. Imitating a boxing announcer, he shouted, “In this corner …weighing in at three hundred pounds we have Father Dickwad, aka The Werewolf Priest. And over here, we have … me … Satan’s soldier who is going to tear the asshole apart.” The demon inside the skinny teenage boy mutated further. Stephen’s skeletal frame screeched eerily as arms became lengthened and muscles enlarged, raising the teenage boy to a height of seven feet. The demon’s teeth protruded from Stephen’s mouth, resembling the razor sharp fangs of a saber-tooth tiger.
Father Rick lunged at the demon, missing only to slam into the wall.
“Not too smart are you? You’re nothing but a dumb animal,” the demon said, spitting out the words clumsily.
The two creatures circled one another, filling the room with a continuous volley of snarls and growls.

Bio:

Brought up on Thriller, Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, James has kept all his dark friends chained up inside his imagination only to let them out little by little in his novels and short stories. For 38 years, he enjoyed a productive career as a music educator. Retirement gave way to a new creative outlet–writing. SynegEbooks is the publisher of his Crimson Pursuit vampire series and his supernatural post-apocalyptic thriller, HECKEL CASEY, is published by Imajin Books. His sci-fi/technothriller, TATS, is available from Amazon.  Hoch’s short stories have appeared in Horror Zine, SNM Horror magazine, Pill Hill Press, 69 Flavors of Paranoia, Sanitarium, SNM Books of Blood V, Dark Eclipse, and Dark Oak Press.  You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and his website www.jameshoch.com

Luna's Children: Chuck Miller's 'The Beast'

Today's guest is Chuck Miller, one of the Luna's Children contributors. You can pick up Full Moon Mayhem and Stranger Worlds on Amazon.

We share an excerpt from his story, "The Beast" which Miller says was mainly inspired by the old EC horror comics with the double- and triple-twist endings. Also, the old TV series, The Fugitive.

EXCERPT:

People often ask me whatever became of Count Karl von Magnus, the celebrated monster hunter. I suppose they think I might have special knowledge of his doings, since I come from his home town and he and I are approximately the same age. I always tell them that he passed away quietly at his ancestral home, following a brief and utterly mundane illness.
The truth would be difficult for these people to swallow, and they would most likely spit it back in my face. Were I to reveal that I myself was Count von Magnus, I would not be believed.
My name was not really Karl von Magnus, nor was I ever a count. That was the only cloak of fiction I draped about myself in those days. Everything else about me was authentic. I was a monster hunter-- an extraordinarily gifted one. But the trade, I found out early on, is like many others; one's effectiveness is dependent on one's reputation. An amateur monster-hunter called Johannes Meyer, from a nondescript mountain village, will not inspire as much respect and cooperation as a mysterious Count who hails from everywhere and nowhere, whose origins and abilities are obscured by darkest shadows. 

Biography:
Chuck Miller was born in Ohio, lived in Alabama for many years, and now resides in Norman, Oklahoma, for no real reason. He is a Libra whose interests include monster movies, comic books, music and writing. He holds a BA in creative writing from the University of South Alabama.

He is the creator/writer of Tales of the Black Centipede, The Incredible Adventures of Vionna Valis and Mary Jane Kelly, The Bay Phantom Chronicles, and The Mystic Files of Doctor Unknown Junior. He has also written stories featuring such classic characters as Jill Trent: Science Sleuth, Armless O'Neil, The Griffon, and others.

Miller received the "Best Creeping Dawn: The Rise of the Black Centipede was published in 2011 by Pro Se Press. The second instalment in the Black Centipede series, Blood of the Centipede was published in 2012, and Black Centipede Confidential is slated for release in 2014. Vionna and the Vampires, the first instalment of The Incredible Adventures of Vionna Valis and Mary Jane Kelly, was published earlier in this year.

New Writer of 2011" Award from Pulp Ark. His first novel, the critically acclaimed

Links:
Black Centipede Blog; Amazon.

Full Moon Mayhem with Louise Herring-Jones

Today's visitor is Louise Herring-Jones, whose short story "Gooji" appears in Luna’s Children: Full Moon Mayhem, edited by D. Alan Lewis (Dark Oak Press 2014).

She says: "Several trips to a remote island in Southeastern Alaska inspired me to write a contemporary werewolf story set in some of the last of North America’s wilderness areas. 'Gooji' means 'man-eating wolf' in Tlingit, a native language of SE Alaska. What starts as a joke becomes harsh reality when Gooji, Jake’s hybrid wolf-dog, defends her human from an attack by Skinner, a disreputable sled-dog trainer turned were.'

Excerpt:

Gooji growled and placed her body between Jake and Skinner. The ruff rose on her neck and her tail whipped back and forth in ferocious imitation of her normal happy wag. Skinner, now transformed into a giant yellow wolf, leapt off the porch and charged into Gooji’s chest. The werewolf and wolf-dog met in midair as Gooji jumped away from Jake, her jaws locking with Skinner’s fanged maw.
The pair wrestled, twisting and biting as they rolled over the cleared area in front of the cabin. Jake grabbed a thick branch fallen from a mountain hemlock and jerked from one side of the fight to the other, straining for an opportunity to hit Skinner without hurting Gooji. More yellow than gray brindled fur stood out for an instant. Jake attacked, striking at Skinner’s back with the heavy branch.
The werewolf yelped, releasing Gooji, but sprang at the makeshift weapon. He bit into the branch and held when Jake tried to shake him away. When he finally succeeded, he realized he had made a mistake. Abandoning the branch, Skinner bit deeply into the meat of Jake’s forearm. Jake screamed and tried to loosen the grip, but the fangs locked on, stapled into muscle.

Pick your copy of Luna's Children: Full Moon Mayhem here.

Luna's Children: a moment with JM Perkins

For countless centuries, mankind has watched as the sun goes down knowing that Luna will rise in its place, to rain her brilliant shards of light upon the Earth. But for the cursed and afflicted, that silvery orb brings horror and death.

Luna's Children Stranger Worlds and Full Moon Mayhem will offer a range of tales featuring the werewolf, a perennial favourite. Today's guest is contributor JM Perkins.

Excerpt from "The Sponsor"

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,Courage to change the things I can,And wisdom to know the difference.A haggard, tired-looking man stood center in a ring of battered metal folding chairs filled with people. The sitters looked up at him, expectant.  James hesitated before speaking.
"Hello. My name is James and I'm a... we... wer. God I can't even say it."
Susan nodded, encouraging him.
"My name is James and I'm a werewolf."
"Hi James," said the group.

JM Perkins is a San Diego-based genre fiction writer and former survivalist with over a dozen of his short stories sold, published, printed and adapted: on the web, in print anthologies, and on Public Radio International. He used a successful kickstarter campaign to publish his first novel, and cohosts the podcast 'John vs Patrick.'
This story was inspired by the Serenity prayer and the concept that Werewolf was mythologically inspired by ancient reactions to PTSD.
Learn more at www.jmperkins.com

To Err is Human with RA Meenan

Today I welcome Luna's Children author RA Meenan and hand over my blog to her for a short guest post. You can pick up the corresponding Stranger Worlds and Full Moon Mayhem over at Amazon.

Werewolves are extremely popular these days and they’ve opened the floodgates for all kinds of werecreatures. There’s werecats, werecoyotes, wereeagles, and even werepenguins.

But what about werehumans? A “reverse werewolf?” What would happen if a wolf turned into a human?

A traditional werewolf, when changed, loses his mind and morals and becomes a raving monster. But what would happen if a wolf turned human and GAINED human morals? Wolves rely on killing to survive, but humans consider killing immoral. So how would a wolf cope with this conflict of interests?

This is what I intended to explore in my story.

Originally I wanted to write the story through the perspective of the wolf, but the more I tried writing it, the harder it got. So I invented Deckard, a somewhat single minded wolf expert living the hermit life among a huge problem of illegal camping and man-eating wolves.

And he was exactly what the story needed. He has it in his head that wolves always fall into the same patterns, so when the pack he’s observing behaves differently than his expectations, he doesn’t know how to react.

A small sample…

The wolf smell had dissipated by now. Maybe it’d be safe to call for survivors.
“Anyone alive out there?” Deckard called as loud as he dared. He cupped his hand over his ear. Nothing. “Anyone at all? I want to help you!” Nothing. Not that he expected anything. He kicked loose dirt over the warm ashes and turned to leave.
Then he heard the whimpering.
He cupped his ear again. More whimpering. Down by the river. He edged toward the bank and found the source.
A young man, barely seventeen, sat huddled and naked at the bank of the river. Specks of blood covered his body and face. Bloody streaks outlined his mouth. Sticks and leaves stuck out of his long black hair. He looked up at Deckard with unnatural fear.
Deckard bit his lip. This would be an interesting one.

See RA Meenan's website.

Luna's Children: Introducing MR Williamson

Today's visitor is one of my fellow Luna's Children authors, MR Williamson, who shares that his love for days past most influenced his story in the anthology.

He says: "My father, Russell Tandy Williamson, was raised in Drummonds. The river, and its 'Landings' have a great history there.

"Being a good part Native American (Eastern Shoshone), I like just about any story of American Indians.  One of the best, in my opinion, is 'Last of the Dog Men'.  If you notice this part of the opening story, the young boy (from 'The Dog Men') kicked it off pretty well."

Here's an extract from MR's story...  

Ray started the Chevy, eased off on the clutch, and the old car lurched forward. Two more gears and they were lumbering east on the Richardson Landing Road and away from the paddle wheeler. They had barely turned south on Old Drummonds Road when Gabby quickly sat up.

"Slow down a bit, Ray,” he requested as he pushed his black, horn-rimmed glasses closer to his nose. “There’s somethin’ up ahead a ways. I saw its eyes shine in the lights.”

Just as Ray pressed the bright light button on the floorboard, something darted from the scrub on the left and ran through the beams of their lights.

“Geeeze!” exclaimed Ray as he slammed on the brakes, bringing the Chevy to a sliding stop. “What the devil was that?” he added excitedly.

Gabby, pushing himself away from the dash, exclaimed, “I don’t believe my eyes.” Quickly opening the door, the old riverboat man got out, looked up ahead in the lights, and then back to the hogweed just right of the Chevy. “This one don’t belong to the eyes I saw, Ray. What we almost hit was a young boy, and a naked one to boot.”

Buy Full Moon Mayhem here and Stranger Worlds here.

Bio:
After retiring from ‘Ma Bell’ in the year 1999, I seriously took to the pen.  Through E-Bay and various bookstores, my novel collection, The Pragamore Chronicles, eventually reached more than eight countries.

My poetry has won the Editor’s Choice Awards from the International Library of Poetry in 1999, 2000, and 2002. View from the Easley Place, a short story, is on exhibition at Munford Library. My stories are published in such anthologies as Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells (‘Quest for the Dragon Scale-Kerlak), ParAABnormal (‘Spotter’-Sam’s Dot), Stories in the Ether (‘Shelled’-Nevermet),  ‘Unlikely Friend’ (Sam’s Dot), and ‘Apprentice’ (Sam’s Dot).

Added short story features for 2013 include, ‘Hell’s Gate’ (Seven Star Press), and ‘Phagan’s Shadow’ (WolfSinger).  Coming short stories are ‘Cry Wolf’ with Dark Oak and ‘The Ghost of Queen Anne’s Revenge’ also with Dark Oak.  On the front burners for 2014 (and working with the editors) are the novellas, ‘The Moleskin Cap’ with Terri Pray and her Under the Moon Publishing and ‘The Curse of the Monkey’s Paw’ with Tyree Campbell and his Alban Lake Publishing.

In the works are novellas, ‘In the Shadows of the White Owls (Held by Under the Moon), ‘Bedouin’, ‘The Angel of Holloway’, and ‘Ooze’.

The year 2014 promises to be a ‘One-Of-A-Kind’ for me.  It starts out with the publishing two, novellas, two large short stories, and then sours from there.
Keep reading and I’ll keep writing. . .

MR Williamson can be emailed at mwilli44@comcast.net. See pragamorechronicles.com or Imagicopter.com    

"The Study Break" Miracle Austin – featured author

Since I'm going to be celebrating with all the Luna's Children contributors, I'll be featuring a few of the authors from the anthology on my blog over the next few weeks. Today's special guest is Miracle Austin, who penned "The Study Break".

Austin writes: "'The Study Break' was inspired by two, young college girls’ boredom one Friday night. They drove into the city to a hot club with fake IDs. They met two older frat boys and decided to hang out a little longer at the frat boys’ apartment. Their Stranger Danger buzzers were broken. Surprisingly, nothing bad happened.
"So, I started to think about what if something did go horribly wrong, not only for them, but also for other young, reckless girls driving into the city to that same club.
"The rest is the story…

Miracle Austin is employed in the social work world. She’s a new author who enjoys writing diverse, free-verse poetry with mini-stories and short stories. She’s transcending into the novella writing, as well. Horror and suspense are her favorite genres, but she’s not limited to.
She’s been writing ever since first hearing Drive by the Cars in junior high, but is a late bloomer in the publishing world. She completed her first novella, Boundless, a collection of her free-verse poems with mini-stories and short stories. Finally, she resides in Texas with her family while working on her second novella. See www.miracleaustin.com.

Purchase Stranger Worlds and Full Moon Mayhem.